On a beautiful sunny morning, Jonny Trangen sits by himself enjoying a cup of coffee and a small pastry at a popular downtown hangout. His three-speed bike is close by.
For Trangen, biking is generally how he gets around Nanaimo. Whether it’s commuting from his home to his work in the city’s downtown core or hanging out with his friends, Trangen can often be seen on two wheels.
“We have a car but I like to bike,” he said.
When it comes to biking in Nanaimo, there are plenty of parks, trails and areas to ride. The E&N Trail, Nanaimo Parkway Trail, and Harbourfront Walkway all provide beautiful views of the city and are fun and easy to ride.
“My favourite part about biking is the nice solid group rides,” Trangen said. “Me and my friends we all ride the beach cruisers and we like to gather every Sunday and go for a ride and that is my favourite part.”
Meanwhile, for good friends Michael Thomas and Chris Brown, biking is something they do just about every single day, as well.
The two recent John Barsby High School graduates love hanging out at the skate park behind the Nanaimo Curling Rink, where they do tricks on their BMX bikes.
“We always go there,” Brown said. “That’s our favourite place that we go to and there are a lot of kids that we meet there.”
“We love meeting friends at the skate park,” Thomas said. “There are always people at the skate park.”
When they are not doing tricks at the park, they’re at Maffeo Sutton Park, which they say is a great place for people to bike.
“It’s fun to bike around Nanaimo,” Brown said. “We actually go down to the Swy-a-lana Lagoon a bunch of times too.”
Those looking to experience nature on two wheels, Nanaimo has a number of solid mountain biking trails.
Mark Perdue, a member of the Nanaimo Mountain Bike club, says whether it is Legalize It at Westwood Lake, Fine China Trail, the Extension Ridge Trail or the Outer Bypass Trail, there are no shortages of places to ride off road in Nanaimo.
“Nanaimo is a really great place to mountain bike,” he said.
Perdue recommends Legalize It, a 10-kilometre trail around Westwood Lake as a fantastic place to ride for entry level to moderately experienced bikers.
“It’s really nice because it has been specifically designed for the beginner to intermediate rider,” Perdue said. “It’s not super technical. It’s a beautiful area going around the park. It’s very well used so you never feel to out there in the wilderness. It’s just a really well designed, fun trial.”
Anyone seeking a bit more of a thrill is encouraged to check out Fine China Trail, which is part of the Doumont Road trail network and located off Weigles Road.
“That’s a super fun trail and it is amazingly popular ... it is like doing a luge run on a bike,” Perdue said. “It’s got big banked corners and big windy turns and there is little jumps and things on it.”
Whether it is downtown, uptown, or on the outskirts of town, all four individuals equally agree that Nanaimo has plenty of great places to bike.